A Dilemma: Should We Help Writers Get Published at All Costs?

As I’ve discussed in past posts, I’m selective with the literary journals I add to Submitit’s database. I always ask myself the following questions:

• Is the journal’s website (layout and copy) of relatively high quality?

• Is there a masthead, preferably with multiple editors, and are the editors experienced and accomplished (as editors, writers, or (ideally) both)?

• Are the submission guidelines sensible and clear? (Some new journals, with inexperienced editors, have unusual guidelines, which is annoying for us at Submitit, and is a possible sign of a short-lived journal.)

• Is there any financial backing (such as from a university or writing collective)?

• Is the journal active with anthologies?

• Is the journal connected to industry sites like CLMP, Chill Subs, and Duotrope?

• Has the journal been around for a while?

• Does the journal own the website (no generic website badges)?

I talk more about these things here.

I don’t expect every journal to pass every test above (new journals, for example, obviously can’t pass the penultimate one on longevity), but I do expect most of them to pass most of them.

But sometimes I find myself analyzing a journal that is, well, toeing the line. A journal, for example, with a single-person masthead but a fine website. Or one that shows “Powered by WordPress” in the banner but looks pretty good otherwise. Or one with very odd submission guidelines.

Importantly, some of these journals, I suspect, have high—perhaps very high—acceptance rates. And here is my dilemma. Do I skip these journals? Or do I include them in Submitit’s database, particularly for clients who would like an acceptance at all costs?

My answer, at least for now, to the titular question of this post is no: I won’t include a journal in Submitit’s database if it fails several of my tests above, even if I suspect the journal’s acceptance rate is very high. Two reasons:

1. Many clients might not celebrate having their work published therein.

2. The journal might be ephemeral (read more about journals going defunct here).

I’m sure, in any case, that some writers will see accessible second-round journals that they’d like us to skip (and no prob). I’m also sure that other writers—ones new to publishing, most likely—would be happy if I’d include just about any journal with a pulse, to give them the best chance of getting accepted.

So I will walk this fine line. Know that I’ll always try to choose journals that I think most writers would be happy getting published in, and that will hopefully be around for a while. And remember, we always share journals lists with our clients before submitting. Feel free to review these lists, especially for the second round, when the journals are smaller and newer.

Yes, of course, our hope is to help writers get published in literary journals, but not necessarily at all costs.

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